Case study · Barcelona · Events
Fira de Barcelona — a venue that speaks to every visitor.
From the entrances to MWC: NaviLens guides by voice anyone who can't read the venue signage, in 42 languages and in real time.
Feb 2023
Official rollout at Gran Via venue
MWC 2023
Launch aligned with Mobile World Congress
100k+
Attendees per edition
42
Languages with voice readout
The client
Fira de Barcelona
& Mobile World Congress
Fira de Barcelona is one of Europe's largest trade-fair institutions, with two venues —Gran Via and Montjuïc— totalling more than 400,000 m² and hosting events such as the Mobile World Congress (MWC), ISE, Smart City Expo and 4YFN.
Embedding NaviLens at entrances, wayfinding totems and venue services delivers spoken directional information to any attendee —in their own language— without new hardware or changes to the visual signage.
§ The challenge
Making accessible a venue that reshapes with every fair.
- 01
Huge venues, fast decisions
Fira Gran Via has more than 240,000 m² of exhibition space across 8 halls. Finding a room, a booth or a service without being able to read traditional signage is especially hard during massive events like MWC or ISE.
- 02
Multilingual wayfinding in real time
Every fair reconfigures the halls: aisles, catering, rooms and services change constantly. Signage must speak to the attendee in their language —42 available— without printing one different sign for each.
- 03
End-to-end accessibility
The journey starts outside the hall: revolving entrances, ticket booths, on-site restaurants and directional totems all need to be voice-readable by any visitor with visual or cognitive disabilities.
§ The solution
At the entrance, the totem and the service.
Fira embeds NaviLens at the top of directional totems, venue entrances and services such as restaurants and information points. Each code is detected from up to 30 m without aiming.
With the free NaviLens app, the attendee hears hall, room, direction or service info —in their language— and walks towards it guided by distance and angle.
§ Walkthrough
From the entrance to the booth, signposted.
Venue entrance
Revolving entrance door
The revolving door at Fira de Barcelona Gran Via carries a NaviLens code on top to guide visitors to the correct entrance and read out safety and emergency-exit instructions by voice.
Venue services
Nuclo restaurant
Venue services such as the Nuclo restaurant at Fira Gran Via include NaviLens codes at their entrance: opening hours, menu and available services can be heard out loud from the phone.
MWC · Wayfinding
UW directional totem
During the Mobile World Congress, Fira's orientation totems (Upper Walkway, Conference District, Partner District, Hall 2-7, Hall 8.0-8.1, 4YFN, etc.) carry NaviLens codes on top so any attendee can hear nearby halls, rooms and services read aloud.
§ What they said
What they said at launch.
“Queremos ir más allá de los protocolos básicos con los que ya contamos y conseguir, mediante la innovación y las nuevas tecnologías, unas instalaciones en las que entrar y participar en sus eventos sea más fácil y ágil para todos.”
“Hacer un evento 100% accesible es muy complejo y somos conscientes de que en el sector ferial queda camino por recorrer, pero seguiremos trabajando de la mano de empresas y asociaciones para dar la mejor respuesta posible a las necesidades de los diferentes colectivos.”
§ And your headquarters?
Your office can also welcome in 42 languages.
Tell us about your building, your services and your visitors. We’ll show you how NaviLens would make your office truly accessible.
